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Xeko Makes an Updated Kickstarter Comeback

What's the deal?: Xeko is a game that was first available as a trading card game in 2005. It is now being reintroduced as an online game through Kickstarter.

Players: 2 (recommended for ages 8+)

Playing Time: 10-20 minutes

WHAT!? A GAME is EDUCATIONAL?: Yes, Xeko is educational. The cards feature real animal species. There is information about the species featured on the cards. The digital game should also have the added feature of a "Google Earth" view of the game board so players can learn about the habitats their favorite animals live in. The art on the cards is also really neat. Michel Gagne is the featured artist for the game - and he has a marvelous portfolio of work.

The Indonesia Starter Box

What's in the box?: Well, it depends on what you are wanting. The trading card game is out of print, but available on Amazon. I received the starter box with an Indonesia "Hotspot." Like other trading card games, there are packs of cards available through online distributors. The big deal right now is that there is a Kickstarter, with less than three days left, reintroducing the game on the internet, social networks, and cell phones. If you back the project in the next day or two, you will have an opportunity to have virtual booster packs, special avatars, and more.

How is it played?: It is called "Pokémon with a purpose," though the only similarity I found is cute little animals. The mechanics are much simpler than Pokémon, or any other trading card game I have played. You start with a Hotspot. Each player has a deck of up to 40 cards, and each player has the same amount of cards. The Hotspot has a tab of color on each edge of the card. Each species has between two and four tabs of color that the player tries to match to the Hotspot. The players take turns drawing a card and playing a species in the domino, or "additive," like game area. When a species is matched to a species the other player placed, there is a turf war. Each species has power displayed in a red circle and represented by a number. Bonus cards and Xeko cards can be played to make one species stronger than the other. When the winner of the turf war is determined, the player who was defeated sheds (or mills) cards from their draw stack equal to the amount of points they lost by in the turf war.

I have to say, I hope the computer tutorial is set up the same way as the rules for the paper card game. The game comes with a rule book, but it also comes with a set of giant cards and a special play board that walks you through several rounds of game play before even getting into the rule book. It was really easy to learn the game mostly thanks to how the rules were relayed.

The starter board shows how the cards work together by matching color tabs.

__Who will like it?: __Kids. The paper card game is definitely for kids. But, the game developers have shared they are going to "age up" the internet version by adding details you would expect to find in a computer game including tutorials, animated characters, and a global directory of other players. The people involved in this project include well known people like Sönny Spearman, Tyler Bielman, and Bo Geddes, so players of digital games should not be disappointed.

GeekMom approved?: Yes. The game is less complex than other trading card games, but makes up for game play simplicity with art and education. I am excited to see what the digital version of this game offers above and beyond the paper version.**